See all the action and excitement for the region's biggest New Years Day event here.

Police have praised drivers throughout the Ballarat region over the new year period after only one major incident was attended at the weekend. Read more.

The highly anticipated National Disability Insurance Scheme began rolling out on Sunday, with several local areas the first to make the transition. Read more.

The Burrumbeet Cup continues to grow as the main draw card for Ballarat’s New Year’s Day, with the 2017 edition setting a new record for attendance. Read more.

The Victorian Ombudsman has called into question the effectiveness of drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs for ex-prisoners in Victoria. Read more.

Drizzle clearing and a top of just 20 degrees today.

Need a national news snapshot first thing? Well, we have you covered. 

►WARRNAMBOOL, VIC: Warrnambool’s Rochelle Greene believed she was going to die as she was crushed and trampled in the Falls Festival stampede that injured more than 60 people over the weekend. Read more

► WAGGA, NSW: A cabbie has described a terrifying hour-long stand-off with two foul-mouthed patrons and said customers have verbally abused him and his colleagues on a daily basis during the festive season. Read more

►GIPPSLAND, VIC: Witnesses have told how there was little ambulance officers could do to save a North East man fatally injured by a fire cracker. Read more

► BALLARAT, VIC: Mineral water drinking and bull boar eating competitions might not be the most common spectator sports, but again were the crowd favourites at the annual Glenlyon Mixed Sports Day on Sunday. Read more

► WOLLONGONG, NSW: What killed Ico Trajanovski? Child witnesses could unlock mystery of man's death on Wentworth Street, Port Kembla, at the weekend. Read more

► GRIFFITH, NSW: A teenager has been airlifted to Sydney’s St George Hospital after being thrown from a vehicle in Griffith on New Year’s Eve. Read more

► NEWCASTLE, NSW: Waratah was a haven for Colin and Joan Woods – their new home was across the road from shops, five minutes from the city and close to their grandchildren. But lurking underneath was the toxic secret of the suburb’s former gasworks – a secret only revealed in the months after they moved in. Read more

► SHEPPARTON, VIC: After playing the same lotto numbers for 30 years, a Shepparton woman has won $1.34 million in a $31 million New Year’s Eve megadraw. Read more

► WOLLONGONG, NSW: Acting Opposition Leader Michael Daley says the Australian dream of home ownership is "fast becoming a nightmare" in Sydney and nearby regions, with the metropolitan housing crisis now spreading to major centres north and south of Sydney, particularly the Illawarra and Central Coast. Read more

►REDLAND BAY, QLD: Coast Guard volunteers helped to rescue a man injured in a boat crash on the Logan River on Saturday afternoon. Read more

►MARYBOROUGH, VIC: Maryborough was filled with the sounds of bagpipes yesterday as the town celebrated its traditional Highland Gathering on New Year's Day. Check out the photos here.

►HUNTER, NSW:  A man has been killed and a second may lose his sight after separate fireworks accidents during New Year’s Eve celebrations. Read more

► Disgruntled Qantas passengers who were stuck in transit in Dubai on New Year's Eve have finally landed in Sydney, after spending the first bit of 2017 in the sky. Read more

► The Victorian Ombudsman has called into question the effectiveness of drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs for ex-prisoners in Victoria. Read more

► Christine Guzara is among thousands of injured workers who will be cut off the NSW workers compensation scheme this year despite it posting a record $1.4 billion surplus. Read more

►Parents helping their kids  buy a first car should be spending that "little bit more" to ensure the vehicle has at least some up to date safety features, the federal transport minister has warned, speaking against the backdrop of a sharp spike in road deaths particularly among the young. Read more

► INDONESIA: Twenty-three people have been killed and 17 injured in a ferry accident off the coast of Jakarta. Read more

► LONDON: Islamic State will likely attempt more terror attacks and morph into a counter-insurgency group as it faces the loss of its Iraqi stronghold in 2017, the US spokesman for the global coalition has warned. Read more

1869: The world's first traffic light explodes, injuring the policeman operating it.

1920: Chemist and science-fiction writer, Isaac Asimov, is born.

1955: South Australia's Vice-Regal Summer Residence, Marble Hill, is destroyed by bushfires.

1971: 66 die in a crowd crush at a football match in Scotland.

A volunteer who has dedicated 50 years of his life to the CFA has been given a prestigious award for outstanding service.

Kevin Atteridge has been involved with the Springhurst brigade for 32 years, serving as captain for 18 years, but he is most well-known for his role in fire brigade competitions. Read more